Apologies for being a bit late on reporting this, but available at select retail locations at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts are these Halloween-themed Disney Gift Cards, pictured to the left. Where the image is white, the card is actually transparent.

Several months ago, reports of the WiFi near the Beach Club lobby was open to the public as opposed to the traditional means of charging for it. While some speculated that it must have been in error and would only be temporary, recent reports not only confirm it’s still available in the common areas at the resort, but that resort staff has confirmed it was an intentional, permanent change in policy.

This has now appeared to carry over to other Convention resorts (which all offer WiFi in public areas such as the lobby and pool areas) as we have seen reports that the Contemporary Resort also makes WiFi available at no charge.

Disney Channel will debut the third season of its Emmy-nominated multicultural series for preschoolers, “Handy Manny,” starring Wilmer Valderrama, on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:30 a.m., ET/PT). The third season will include a new primetime special, a new short-form series and the introduction of 10 new tool characters.

Guest stars include Rosario Dawson as a marine biologist, Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a race car driver, Jim Belushi as a drawbridge operator and Giada De Laurentiis as the owner of a pizza parlor. Lance Bass returns in the recurring role of klutzy “surfer dude,” Elliot.

Monorail Teal will soon be making its debut at Walt Disney World after being constructed from undamaged parts of Monorail Pink and Monorail Purple which collided this past summer, resulting in the death of Monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg.

This will bring the fleet up to 11 trains, joining Red, White, Coral, Lime, Green, Black, Silver, Blue, Gold and Orange. Out of respect to Wuennenberg and his family, Pink and Purple will officially be retired.

The NTSB is still conducting its investigation into the incident but has publically acknowledged Disney’s proper conduct following the tragedy.

The official storage policy for Disney’s PhotoPass photos is that they will be available online for editing and ordering for at least 30 days after being added to one’s account. Afterwards, deletions were sure to occur (although the occasional rogue photos may have managed to escape their fate a la Logan’s Run). From the very beginning, many users had struggled to complete all of the editing within the 30 day timeframe and with additional enhancements to both the website and the actual PhotoPass system itself over the years, the 30 day period has proven to become increasingly difficult for many customers.

As we reported earlier, Crystal Palace will be closed for refurbishments from January 3 through January 13, 2010. During this time, characters will once again return to Liberty Tree Tavern in Frontierland and the table service location will serve breakfast in addition to lunch and dinner. Once Crystal Palace returns, Liberty Tree will resume with lunch and dinner service only and no character experience.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2009) – Disney’s Endurance series is adding a mouth-watering half marathon to its list of already popular race weekends. The inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is set to take place Oct. 1-2, 2010, culminating with a 13.1-mile nighttime race and after-hours party inside the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

Combining characteristics of some of the most popular races, the half marathon is sure to please runners of all types. Participants will brave the night on a never-before-trekked course through multiple Disney theme parks, with the finish line inside the Epcot Food & Wine Festival for an exclusive after-hours party. Spectators can purchase tickets to the party and help kick off the 15th annual Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

In the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” episode entitled “Mickey and the Enchanted Egg,” Mickey finds an egg which soon hatches a baby dragon. Determined to protect the baby dragon and bring it back to its home, Mickey and pals must convince Wizard Pete that they did not steal his egg. The episode was written by Ashley Mendoza and directed by Sherrie Pollack and Broni Likomanov.